Moissac and Lauzerte France, September 2012

Moissac is a small town on the banks of the Tarn River near the ancient abbey of St. Pierre. Records of an abbey date back to the mid-7th century. St. Didier the bishop of Cahor is credited with the development of this abbey and church as well as several others in southwest France. Between the 7th and the 11th century, the Moissac area struggled through a series of attacks by the Arabs, the Norseman and finally the Hungarians. The St. Pierre Abbey was attacked multiple times and was struggling to keep itself together. In the year 1047, St. Odilon, a bishop who devoted his life to reforming and strengthening abbeys throughout Europe passes through the area. He was responsible for affiliating St. Pierre’s Abbey with the Cluny Abbeys and under their organization; St. Pierre Abbey is able to direct abbeys throughout the region as far away as Catalonia. The current abbey was started right after St. Odilon’s visit and was completed shortly thereafter in 1100 AD.

St. Pierre Abbey has the oldest, largest Romanesque style cloister still intact. There are 76 capitals at the top of pillars in the cloister. The capitals are called narrative capitals due to the carvings which represent stories. Luckily, these capitals have Latin inscriptions on their tops explaining the carvings. Though many of these are foliage, animals and human figures, 46 of them are narratives from the Bible and the lives of saints. In addition to the capitals, there are 12 large pillar statues. What is remarkable about this cloister is that many of the carvings are in excellent condition despite the Hundred Years War with England, the Wars of Religion and the Reign of Terror following the French Revolution. More recent history though almost doomed the cloister. During the mid-19th century, railways were laid out to connect all of France. The local railway was planned to cut right through the center of the abbey destroying it entirely. The people of the area were so alarmed that they were able to halt plans to demolish the cloister and church. Instead, the living quarters of the monks were taken down and now train tracks run alongside what is left of the abbey. The church and cloister remain intact.

St. Pierre Church has always been the church for the abbey. Older structures stood on this location; the current church is an amalgam of the Romanesque church from the 11th century and later additions in a French Gothic style during the 15th century. The southern doorway is the most remarkable part of the church. The tympanum above the doorway was built in the Romanesque style and dates back to the 1130’s. The scene on the tympanum depicts the Book of Revelations. The carvings on the doorways are virtues and vices as well as medieval horror images. The west side of the doorway focuses on sin, while the east side of the doorway focuses on the childhood of Christ. The unique middle supporting column is a style called a trumeau column. The carvings on the trumeau are intact depicting St. Paul and Jeremiah.

Inside St. Pierre there are several original wood carvings dating from the 12-15th centuries. St. Pierre church and abbey are a stopping point for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostella in north eastern Spain. On the day we visited, we saw 20-30 pilgrims making their way along the trail. Since it was early September, the pilgrims still have time to cross the Pyrenees Mountains before the snow comes.

The area surrounding Moissac is rural and agricultural. The main products from the area are grapes, orchards, cereal crops and pasture land. The vineyards do not produce wine grapes, rather a special varietal of golden grapes known as Chasselas de Moissac AOC. Other notable area food items are foie gras, sausages, cheeses and prunes from Agen, a short distance north of Moissac.  

After our visit to St. Pierre’s Abbey, we noticed signs for one of “Les Plus Beaux Village de France”, Lauzerte. “Les Plus Beaux Village de France” is a distinction every small town wants and Lauzerte has had since April 1990. A town desiring this classification makes an application and goes through a rigorous selection process. Once assigned the title of “Les Plus Beaux Village de France”, the town must make constant efforts to retain the title. This is one way that a small town can survive; tourists seeking the quaint and medieval will travel to see the village and spend needed money in the area. We did just the same. While looking for a place to have lunch, we saw the sign for Lauzerte and drove the extra 12 kilometers. We stopped in the town market, had lunch, and bought artisanal products in the local shops. What better place than a certified beautiful village?

The history of Lauzerte dates back to the tenth century AD. There is documentation of a small hilltop fortress originally built as an administrative center of the Gauls. Later at the end of the 12th century, Raymond V, Count of Toulouse was given the rights to build a city protected by a castle. The main source of income for the city was to function as the granary for the city of Cahors. Later, it became a seat of a senechalsy; a court of appeals, and exercised control over the countryside. Despite its location as a hilltop fortress, England managed to take control of the area during the Hundred Years War.  

The village today has an upper area with well-preserved examples of typical medieval houses arranged around a church and square. The town is also another stopping point for pilgrims heading towards the Pyrenees on their way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The next stop from Lauzerte on the pilgrim trail is Moissac. Eventually I will make my way to Santiago de Compostella, having already covered much of the southwestern route, albeit by car or train rather than on foot.  

On our way back to Toulouse, we spent some time searching out pigeon towers. These are called pigeonnier or colombeir in France, and dovecote in English speaking countries. Keeping pigeons dates back to Egyptian times and it is thought that the Romans brought the tradition to Europe. In medieval France, a pigeonnier was a status symbol, reserved for only the wealthy. The pigeons were a source of meat for the lords and also fertilizer for the fields. Tales of pigeon thieving are legend in the area; so many pigeonniers are built attached to the house or just a short distance away. Holes for the pigeons are called boulins. The size of the pigeonnier is determined by the number of boulins. Each boulin holds a pair of pigeons in a nest built for them. Some of the largest pigeonniers have over 2000 boulins. The insides are tiled partially up the sides to prevent rodents from reaching the birds. Large trees are kept away from the pideonnier to eliminate resting spots for large birds of prey. Pigeonniers are now registered historic landmarks in France and many are restored to their former state which frequently reflects the same style as the manor house. We saw several of these on the way back to home. Another delightful day in the French countryside.